Bag opening device



Dec. 29, 1942.l P. R. BUNDY 2,306,426

BAG OPENING DEVICE Fiiea April 22. -1941 Patented Dec. 29, 1942y UNITEDSTATES rATrNT .oFFlcE BAG OPENING DEVICE Philander R. Bundy,Indianapolis, Ind. Application April 22, 1941, Serial No. 389,795

12 Claims.

This invention relates to dispensers and more particularly to animproved bag opening device.

One object of the invention is to provide a bag opening device whichwill operate in a highly eiiicient manner for opening bags, sacks orsimilar containers, particularly those containing lime, carbon, cementor other powdered material.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bag opening devicewherein means are employed for spreading the sides of the bag so thatthe contentsl thereof may be fully and completely discharged.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bag opening device whichmay be removably mounted on a hopper and can, therefore, be

` readily transferred from one hopper or machine to another.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a device of thischaracter wherein the cutting blade employed may bereadily removed andsharpened when necessary.

And another object' of' the invention is to provide a bag opening devicewherein means: is eniployed for urging the opening fingers towardoperative or inoperative` position.

Still further objects of the invention, not specifically mentionedhereinbefore, will become apparent as the description proceeds.

In they drawing forming a part of my application:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectionalv proved bag openingA device,

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the invention, v Figure 3 is a top planView, and

Figure 4' is an .enlarged detail side elevation particularly showing theshifting mechanism for the opening' ngers.

Referring now to they drawing in` more detail, the numeraly I indicatesin general a tubular body which is preferably formed off sheet metal ofa suitable weight. The body I is formed with a laterally andv radiallyextending mounting flange 2 which is normally engaged with. the margindening a-n opening 3v in a hopper, a portion of the` top wall of whichis' shown at 4." It should be understood that the body I' is of'sufli-View of my imvcient height and diameter to accommodate con'- ventionalbags of the type employed for transporting lime, carbon, cement or otherdusty material.

Mounted in the body I and extending upwardly throughout the majorportion of the height thereof and diametrically thereof is an invert-edV-shaped cutting blade 5, said bladebeing hat and having a cutting edgevIi. Removbeeomevbent, As bestably mounting theY cutting blade in thelower end of the body I are brackets 1 and 8, said brackets beingdisposed at diametrically opposite points on the body and each having amounting leg 9 secured to the ange 2 by a stud III. As will be seen,ythe brackets Tand 8 include clips II and I2 which engage the lower endcor-l ners of the blade 5 and are removably fastened thereto by means ofscrews I3. It should be understood that, while I have shown three screwsextending through each of the clips, one screw or bolt extending througheach of said clips may be substituted if desired. In other Words, onescrew, it isl believed. will be suiiicient in all ordinary applications.The brackets 1 and 8- also are each formed with a supporting arm I 4,the supporting arms of saidv brackets being disposed in horizontalalinement and being formed with alined openings defining bearings I 5the purpose for which Will be described in more detail hereinafter. 4 f

Mounted on the blade 5v medially of the width thereof and near its pointare spreading elements I6. One of the spreading elementsYY is mounted.on each side of the blade andv said elements are connected to the bladeby means of studs I7. The elements I6 are, furthermore, positioned withtheir free end portions extending downwardly and outwardly. The purposefor the spreading elements will be set forth in more detail hereinafter.

In order to spread the mouth of asack or bag to full ,open position `topermit full discharge of the contents of the bag or sack., I providespreading fingers. I8 whichform parts of spreading iinger assembliesIIJI and 20.. The spreading finger assembly I9 is mounted atone side ofthe blade and the assembly 20 is mounted on the other side thereof. Theassemblies I9. and. 20- are of identical construction so that adescription of one will suflice for both. The spreading iinger assemblyI9 includes a rock shaft 2I which has its opposite ends journaled inLalined bearings I5 of the arms I'4. The assembly I9 also lincludes thefingers I8 Which-are, as shown, three. i-n number and are disposed inspaced relation along the rockr shaft. It should beunderstood that,while I have shown but three of the fingers I8, any suitable number ofthem may be employed. They may be of equal lengthfor, as shown inFigure1, the center'in'ger may be slightly longer. than the'ngers disposed ateach side of said center nger. The fingers I8` are formed of wireorother desired materiall and are sufficiently stiff so that they willvnot easily shown in Figures 2 and 3 of the drawing, the ngers arenormally disposed with their upper ends in engagement with the oppositefaces of the blade 5. The upper ends of the centermost fingers, as willbe seen, terminate in vertically spaced relation to the lower ends ofthe elements IB.

In order that the rock shafts 2| of the assemblies l9 and 20 may berocked for shifting the ngers from inoperative to operative position,and vice versa, I provide shifting mechanism which will now bedescribed. At corresponding ends of the rock shafts 2| are mountedshifting links 22 and 23. As seen in Figures l and 2, the shifting links22 and 23 extend toward each other so that their major portions lie insubstantially close spaced relation to each other. The links 22 and 23are provided with slots 24 and 25 respectively, said slots beingdisposed in substantially horizontally alined position. As shown at 26,the ends of the shafts 2l which are mounted in the links 22 and 23 aresquared so that relative movement of said links and said shafts will beprevented. Mounted on the upper face of the flange 2 near the edgethereof is a mounting bracket 21, said mounting bracket being ofsubstantially reverse L-shape and including a vertically extending arm28. Pivotally mounted on the upper end portion of the arm 28 of thebracket 21, by means of a pivot bolt 29, is an operating lever 36, saidlever having a relatively long arm 3|, which is manually engageable, andhaving a relatively short arm 32 which is connected with the links 22and 23 by a connecting link 33 and by pivot bolt-s 34 and 35, said bolt34 extending into the end portion of the arm 32 and said bolt 35extending through the slots 24 and 25 of the links 22 and 23. Mounted onthe bracket 21 is a lug 36 which has anchored thereto the lower end of aretractile spring 31, the upper end of said spring being connected tothe arm 3| of the lever 30 by means of a lug 38.

The operation of my improved bag opening device will now be described.

It is iirst presumed that my improved bag opening device has beenpositioned on a hopper or other container which is to receive thecontents of a bag of cement, carbon, lime or the like. A bag to beemptied is inverted and its lower end is inserted in the upper end ofthe body l. The bag or sack is forced downwardly for engaging the pointsof the cutting blade 5. By forcing the llower end of the bag or sackagainst the cutting blade, said cutting blade will slit the lower end ofthe bag so that the contents thereof will be free to be discharged. Asthe lower end portions of the bag, which lower end portions were denedby slitting the lower end of said bag, move downwardly along the blade5, the elements I6 will cause these lower end portions to spreadslightly and thus to clear the upper ends of the fingers I8 which are,in inoperative position, caused to bear against the opposite faces ofthe blade by tension of the spring 31. When the bag has been moved toits fullest extent within the body I, the lower end portions of the sidewalls of the bag will be disposed near the lower end of the blade 5. Inorder that the contents may be fully and completely discharged, thelever 3| is manually engaged and is shifted for raising the link-s 22and 23 and thus rocking the fingers outwardly to the position shown indotted lines in Figure 4. When the ngers are thus moved outwardly, themouth of the sack or bag will be opened to its fullest extent forpermitting full discharge of the contents into the hopper or othercontainer which is disposed beneath the device. In order that theoperation of the shifting mechanism may be more completely understood,it is desired to state that shifting of the lever 30 will be imparted tothe links 22 and 23 through the link 33 and the pivot bolts 34 and 35.Said pivot bolt 35 will, of course, be capable of sliding movementwithin the slots 24 and 25 in the links 22 and 23. The spring 31 ismounted in such a manner that it will exert its tension for moving thelever toward operative or inoperative positions. That is to say, thespring is mounted so that, when it is in vertical position, it is ondead center and when it is moved to either side of Vertical position, itwill exert equal pulling vor tensioning stress on either side of deadcenter. Therefore, the spring will urge the lever toward the inoperativeposition shown in Figure 2, after dead center has been passed, or itwill urge the lever toward the operative position shown in dotted linesin Figure 4, on the other side of dead center.

It is desired to call attention to the fact that, inasmuch as the body lcompletely surrounds the lower end of the sack or bag, there will be nopossibility of diifusion of the contents in the form of dust. Thus itwill be seen that waste is largely prevented and that cleanliness of theestablishment within which the device is used is enhanced. Moreover, asbest seen in dotted lines in Figure 2, the fingers I8 are provided withrods 68a to limit downward movement of the bag along said iingers.

It is also desired to call attention to the fact that my improved bagopening device may be readily removed from one hopper or container andinstalled on another, when desired. The

invention is characterized by the utmost simplicity in construction.

It is now thought that the construction and operation of my improved bagopening device will be thoroughly understood.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A bag opening device including a body, a cutting blade, meansmounting the cutting blade in the body, said cutting blade beingengageable with the lower end of a bag for opening said bag within thebody, means carried by the cutting blade for initially spreading theopened lower end of the bag, and means carried by the body and operablefor secondarily spreading the mouth of the bag for permitting fulldischarge of the contents thereof through the body.

2. A bag opening device including a body, a cutting blade in the bodyfor opening a bag, means on the blade and engageable with portions ofthe bag for initially spreading the mouth of the bag` and means carriedby the body below the cutting edge of the blade and movable from aninoperative position adjacent the blade to an operative positionextending toward the wall of the body for secondarily spreading themouth of the bag. 3. A bag opening device including a body, a cuttingblade in the body for opening a bag, means on the blade and -engageabiewith portions of the bag for initially spreading the mouth of the bag,means carried by the body below the cutting edge of the blade andmovable from an inoperative position adjacent the blade to an operativeposition extending toward the Wall of the body for secondarily spreadingthe mouth of the bag, said last-mentioned means including a nger, and arock. shaft operatively mounting the finger.

4. A bag opening device including a body, a blade, means removablymounting the blade in the body, said blade being operative for slittingthe lower end of a bag in the body, and means in the body below thecutting edge of the blade for spreading the mouth of the bag afterslitting of the lower end thereof whereby complete discharge of thecontents of the bag may take place, said means including a rock shaft, alinger on the rock shaft, and means for imparting rock'- ing movement tothe rock shaft.

5. A bag opening device including ra body, a cutting blade in the body,said cutting blade having an edge engageable with a bag for slitting thelower end thereof, fingers carried in the body and engageable within thebag upon downward movement of said bag along the blade, and means forshifting the fingers away from the blade for spreading the mouth of thebag.

6. A device of the class described including a body, a blade operativelymounted in the body and engageable with a bag for slitting the lower endthereof, a plurality of lingers engageable within the bag as said bag ismoved downwardly along the blade for spreading the mouth of the bag, arock shaft mounting the fingers, means operatively connecting the rockshaft with the body, and means for imparting rocking movement to therock shaft.

7. A device of the class described as recited in claim 6 wherein saidpenultimate means removably mounts the blade within the body.

8. A device of the class described including a body, a blade mounted inthe body and being engageable with a b-ag for slitting the lower endthereof, a rock shaft, means operatively connecting the rock shaft withthe body, a finger carried by the rock shaft and extending upwardlyalong the blade, an operating link carried by the rock shaft, anoperating lever, means operatively connecting the operating lever withthe body, and means operatively connecting the lever with the operatinglink, said lever being engageable for shifting the link and rocking therock shaft whereby the` finger will be swung away from the blade forspreading the mouth of the bag and thus permitting complete discharge ofthe contents thereof through the body.

9. A bag opening device including a body, a blade,y means operativelymounting the blade in the body, said blade being engageable with a bagfor slitting the lower end thereof, a pair of rock shafts, one of saidrock shafts being mounted on each side of tne blade, lingers carried bythe rock shafts, said fingers being arranged in spaced relation to eachof said shafts, operating links carried by the shafts and extendingtoward each other and in parallel relation throughout portions of thelinks, said operating links having slots, an operating lever, meansoperatively con necting the operating lever with the body, and meansoperatively connecting the operating lever with the operating links,said lever being shiftable for shifting the operating links and rockingthe shafts whereby the lingers on each shaft will be swung away'frointhe blade for spreading the mouth of the bag after the lower end thereofhas been slitted whereby complete discharge of the contents from the bagwill be permitted.

10. A bag opening device including `a body, a cutting blade, meansremovably mounting the cutting blade in the body, said cutting bladebeing engageable with the lower end ofA a` bag for slitting the same,spreading elements carried by the blade and engageable with portions ofthe bag for initially spreading the mouth of the bag, rock shafts, meansoperatively connecting the rock shafts with the body, links carried onthe rock shafts, an operating lever, means operatively connecting theoperating lever with the links, lingers on the rock shafts and extendingupwardly along the blade, said fingers being engageable within the bagas said bag is moved downwardly along the blade, said fingers havingtheir upper ends in engagement with the walls of the blade in operativeposition, said operating lever being shiftable for rocking theshafts andswinging the fingers away from the blade into operative positionsecondarily spreading the mouth of the bag, and means connected betweenthe body and the operating lever and urging said operating lever towardoperative or inoperative positions. n

11. A device ofthe class described as recited in claim 10 wherein'saidlast-mentioned means is constituted by a retractile spring, said springhavingv one end connected with the operating lever and the opposite endconnected withthe body.

12. A device of the class described as recited in claim 6 includingmeans onthe fingers for limiting downward movement of the bag.

PHILANDER R. BUNDY.

